110: Equity Resources

After browsing through a few other resources, I chose to really look at the Rethinking Schools site. I was more than impressed with what I saw, but most impressed with the quarterly magazine. I read a few of the articles-- the one that stuck with me most was about the integration of technology in the classroom. I've over and over again said that I should try to get some grant money (or Donors Choose) to get a projector in my room-- having the kids huddled around my computer in the classroom is not ideal at all. I know from home visits that very few of them had computers in the home-- and if they did, they were not up to speed with modern technology. Reading the article-- about how much access to technology can affect end result in education brought me back to that. However, the article also put things into perspective-- what we stand to lose by over-emphasizing technology in education. Would it push consumer culture? Or disadvantage those students who did not learn best that way? The article, in the end, left me thinking that while I think better technology in my room still could really positively impact UbD (and give some students outside context), it is not the saving grace that I had previously imagined it to be.

I also really liked the listing of links/other resources that Rethinking Schools Online had. I was already familiar with using the ERIC database from a few college papers, but this list encompassed just about anything I could possibly need in terms of academic journals designed to improve cross-cultural equity. I could see myself coming back to this list in my planning next fall and to get new ideas of ways to ensure that my classroom becomes more and more equitable.